Zjghting device



Sept. 18, 1934. H. E. TOELLE LIGHTING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 5. 1931 .Sept. 18, 1934. H. E. TOELLE LIGHTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 val???- retested Sept. 18, 1934 NHTED STATES ATENT LIGHTING DEVICE Application January 5, 1931, Serial No. 506,546

7 Claims. (Cl. 158-117.1)

My invention relates to lighting devices and contemplates an improvement for guarding against the escape of unburned gas from the lighter such as will occur in the event that the pilot flame of the lighter is extinguished without closing 011 the flow of gas for maintaining such flame.

Where the pilot flame of a device of this sort is extinguished without closing off the flow of gas for maintaining the same, such as, for example,

- by lack of oxygen, a draft of air, or by liquid boiling over the sides of a vessel placed over a burner of the stove, range or the like, the escape of unburnedgas is entailed.

My invention provides for automatically closing off the lighter against the escape of unburned gas where the pilot flame is extinguished, as above pointed out.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view partially broken away and partially in section illustrating a lighter embodying my present invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing another embodiment of my invention;

Figure 3 is a detail cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to Figures 1 and 2 showing further embodiments of the in-. vention.

Referring first to Figure 1, the lighter therein illustrated comprises a tube 5 leading fr0m the usual gas manifold 6 and terminating in an upturned end '7 having threaded thereon a lighter tip 8. The tip 8 has one or more ports 9 adjacent which a pilot flame is maintained at 10.

The tube 5 is connected to the manifold 6 by a valve ll, a coupling 11' being illustrated between the valve 11 and the tube 5. The type of the valve 11 is well known so that detailed description here is unnecessary. Sumce it to say, for present purposes, that this valve 11 has a constant by-pass adjustable by a valve screw 12 by which arrangement a restricted flow of gas to the tip 8 maintains the small pilot flame at 10 and thatdepression of the external button ,13, manually, effects the flow of a considerably increased amount of gas which causes the pilot flame 10 to be projected radially outwardly at 14 far enough to light the particular burner to which gas has been admitted or other object.

A protecting hood 15 is mounted over the lighter 55 tip 8 telescopically upon a flanged collar 16 perforated at 17 and supported upon the upturned end of the tube 5 between nut members 18 threaded thereon. The hood 15 has openings 19 in the circular side wall, each in line with one of the openings 9 and with one of the burners on the range where the lighter is so employed. It is, of course, understood that gas ranges commonly embody a number of burners, usually four, and that in such case the torch head which includes the lighter tip may be disposed centrally between the burners with one opening 9 directed toward each burner, the four lighting flames 14 for the four burners being projected from the openings 9 and through the aligned openings 19 to the respective burners. The hood 15 may have additional openings as and where desired, an opening through the top of the hood being indicated at 19'.

The tip 8 has an axial passage 20 opening through the upper end of the tip and in which is disposed for axial movement a stem 21. Internally the tip 8 has a conical seat 22 and the lower end of the stem-21 is provided within the tip with a valve 23 adapted when the stem 21 is in raised position to seat upon the seat 22 and close off the flow of gas through the openings 9. There is preferably sufllcient clearance around the stem 21 up at least to the openings 9, as shown at 25, so that when the valve'23 is open, as shown, the flow of gas to the openings 9 will not be interfered with.

The upper end of the valve stem 21 is adjust-- ably connected'at 26 to a thermal sensitive element 27 in the form of a strip of bi-metallic formation comprising two metal laminations 27a90 and 27b having difierent coeflicients of expansion bowed at 28 and anchored at 29, upon a bracket 30 secured by the angular leg 31 upon the upturned end '7 of the tube 5 between the nut membars 18. The adjustable connection at 26 between the stem 21 and the thermal sensitive element 27 is obtained by passing the upper threaded end of the stem 21 through the opening 32 in the thermal sensitive element 2'7 and threading nut members 33 on this stem on opposite sides of the thermal sensitive element.

In use the pilot flame 10 maintained at the torch head of the lighter heats the thermal sensitive element 27 suillciently to warp the leg to which the stem 21 is connected downwardly to open the valve 23, as shown, and to maintain this valve open constantly during the presence of the pilot flame 10 at the tip of the lighter. The disposition of the stem 21 within the tip 8, as well as the illustrated disposition of the thermal sen- 11D sitive element across the tip, is conducive to the transmission of heat to the thermal sensitive element, ot only from the pilot flame, but from the lighte tip itself when the pilot flame is burning.

In the event that the pilot flame which is intended to be constantly maintained, as well understood in the art, is extinguished, the oversition at the front of the range.

,hanging arm of the thermal sensitive element 27 will as a result of the lower temperature resulting from the absence of the heat of the pilot flame 10, move upwardly to the dotted line position illustrated at 28 carrying the stem 21 with it and seating the valve 23 upon its seat 22 to automatically close oil the lighter against the escape of unburned gas therefrom.

In this embodiment the valve 23 may be opened to permit lighting the pilot by reaching in and, manually, depressing the projecting end 34 of the thermal sensitive element, or by heating the thermal sensitive element as, for example, by applying a match thereto as illustrated at 35. The downward displacement of the overhanging arm of the thermal sensitive element in either case opens the valve 23 to permit the restricted pilot maintaining flow of gas from the ports 9 which may be lighted to form the relatively small constantly burning pilot flame 10.

The projection of the thermal sensitive element through an opening 36 in the hood 15 readers the same accessible from outside the hood for depressing the same or applying heating thereto as above described. The adjustability of the connection at 26 permits adjusting the valve 23 to its seat 22 after assembly of the parts to assure proper seating and closing off of the flow of gas from the lighter tip when the pilot is extinguished.

The embodiment of Figure 2 is like that of Figure 1 with the addition of means at 40 adjacent the flashing button 13' for, manually, opening the valve 23' from convenient position outside the burner area of the range, and specifically in the illustrated embodiment from pc- The means at 40 is in the form of a trigger 41 pivoted at 42 upon a fitting mounted upon the lighter assembly and clamped to the body of the flash valve 45 by a nut 46. The trigger 41 has a button 47 adapted to be depressed, manually, with the flnger and the trigger is connected with the free end of the overhangingarm of the thermal sensitive element 27 through links 50 and 51 and a lever 48 pivoted at 49 to the collar 16 so that, assuming that that the pilot flame 10' has been extinguished and the valve 23' automatically closed by the thermal sensitive element 27', the valve 23' may be, manually, opened by depressing the button 47. In manually opening the valve 23 in this manner depression of the button 47 draws the arm of the thermal sensitive element 27 down to where it is positioned by the heat of the pilot flame 10 when this flame is burning, and it may be held in this position until the pilot flame is lighted and the thermal sensitive element is heated sufliciently to remain in this position. This manually operable means is also capable of closing the pilot valve, if such operation is desired. This is accomplished by merely reversing the action which has been described for opening the valve, and comprises pushing to the right on the button 47, as viewed in Figure 2, which forces the bell crank 48 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, raising the thermally sensitive element and consequently raising the valve stem 21.

When the pilot flame 10' is extinguished the upward displacement of the thermal sensitive arm will not only close the valve 23, but will reset the button 47 into position to be manually depressed to open the valve. The proximity of the finger piece 47 to the button 13' permits the trigger 41 and button 13 to be simultaneously manipulated with the same hand, if desired, to open the valve 23' and simultaneously effect a lighting flame projecting or flashing flow of gas to the torch head to be lighted at the tip by applying a match. By opening the valve 23 and at the same time effecting the flow of an increased or flashing quantity of gas to the tip in this manner, the heating of the thermal sensitive element sufliciently to warp it to position for holding the valve 23 open may be hastened, or the trigger 41 may, of course, be actuated alone and a match applied to light the restricted pilot maintaining supply of gas which thereupon issues from the openings 9', the heat of the pilot flame 95 10 positioning the thermal sensitive arm to hold. the valve 23' constantly open while the pilot flame is burning.

In Figure 5 the present invention is shown in connection with the type of lighting device illustrated and described in the copending application of Oscar J. Leins, Serial No. 449,854, flled May 5, 1930, in which the hood 60 of the torch head is provided with tubes 61 directed toward the respective burners for assuring that the flash projections or lighting flames which are projected from the torch head reach the desired lighting positions for the respective burners where a relatively high B. t. u. gas is employed. In this case the thermal sensitive element 62 no is disposed within the hood 60 at the inner ends of the tubes 61 and below the flue 61, being connected to the valve 63 and with the button 64 at the manifold end of the lighter tube 65 as in the embodiment of Figure 2, the flash valve being 115 indicated at 66 with its flashing button 67 and the gas manifold and torch head being indicated at 68 and 69.

In Figure 6 the invention is shown in connection with the type of lighting device illustrated 1 and described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,747,015 issued February 11, 1930, in which a flxed pilot flame is maintained at the Bunsen lighter tip 70 of the torch head 71, there being extendible tubes 72 opening at 73 to the respective burners 74 for conveying the gas from the respective burners to this fixed pilot flame to light the respective burners by opening the gas cook associated therewith and without increasing the quantity of gas fed to the pilot tip through the lighter tube 75, which tube may therefore be connected to the gas manifold 76 by a fitting 77 having a valve screw 78 for adjusting the constant pilot flame. As in the preceding embodiment, the thermal sensitive element 79 is disposed'within the hood of the torch head at the inner ends of the tubes 72 and below the inverted cup 80, the valve at the tip being indicated at 81 and the button for manually opening this valve being indicated at 82.

I claim:

1. In combination, a gas manifold, a gas bumer, a lighter tube connected with said manifold and having a torch head in proximity to the burner, means for maintaining a pilot flame at 145 the torch head, a thermal sensitive element in proximity to the pilot flame, a valve member having a stem directly connected with said thermal sensitive element for closing off the torch head against the escape of unburned gas when 150 the pilot flame is extinguished and means in proximity to said gas manifold and connected to said thermally sensitive element for stressing said thermally sensitive element to open and close said valve.

. 2. In combination, a lighter having a torch head provided with port means for maintain a pilot flame, means for supplying gas for said lighter, means for increasing the flow of gas to said torch head to project a lighting flame therefrom, a thermal sensitive element in proximity to the pilot flame, a valve controlled by said thermal sensitive element for automatically closing oil the torch head against the escape of unburned gas when the pilot flame is extinguished and means adjacent said flame projecting means and connected to said thermally sensitive element for manually stressing said sensitive element to open and close said valve.

3. In combination, a lighter tube, a lighter tip, a valve disposed for axial movement in said tip, a thermally sensitive element disposed over said tip and directly connected to control all movements of said valve, manually operated means for increasing the flow of fuel to said lighter tube, a control member mounted adjacent said manually operated means, said control member being connected to said thermally sensitive element for manually operating said valve.

4. In a device of the class described, a lighter tip, a lighter tube connected thereto, a hood over said tip, asupport for said hood carried by said lighter tube, a thermally sensitive element disposed within said hood and over said tip, a valve disposed within said tip, a control member mounted on said lighter tube, a bell crank -pivoted on said hood support, and connections between said control member and said bell crank and between said bell crank and said thermally sensitive element.

tip and directly connected to said valve, a bell crank pivoted on said hood support, a connection between saidthermally sensitive element and one arm 01 said bell crank, an operating lever pivoted on said lighter tube and remote from said hood, and a connection between said lever and the other arm of said bell crank.

6. In a lighting device or the class described having a lighter tube, a lighter tip connected thereto, a valve in said tip, av remotely disposed operating member, and a thermally sensitive member extending over said tip and directly connected to said valve, the combination of means for manually opening and closing said valve comprising a lever system connected to the end of said thermally sensitive member and including a pivotally mounted bell crank lever having one arm thereof connected to said remotely disposed operating member.

'7. In combination, a gas burner, a lighter having a lighter tip for maintaining a pilot flame, a hood supported on said tip, a thermally sensitive element supported on said tip and having a portion bent over the tip vwithin said hood, a valve in said tip having a stem connected to said thermally sensitive element, means for supply-v ing gas to said lighter through said valve, conduit means extending between said burner and said hood for lighting said burner from said pilot flame, said thermally sensitive member closing said valve upon extinguishment of said pilot flame, and means disposed adjacent said gas supply means and connected to said element for manually opening said valve.

, HERBERT E. TOELLE. 

